“I want to give everything, my dream is to win the Euroleague with Barça”
BARCELONA, 11 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The player and captain of Barça Nikola Mirotic stated that going “a little more covered” could benefit them in the Euroleague Final Four, which will take place in Kaunas (Lithuania) and whose semifinal will be played against Real Madrid, with the aim of revenge , without obsessing, after last year’s defeat.
“Until we see what happens, we can’t say anything. Because right now there’s a lot of expectation, there’s a lot of noise. I’m not sure it’s something that can benefit us, but I can also say that this year at least we’re not going as favourites. “Although there are no favourites, everyone is talking about Olympiacos. I think that going a little more covered can help us”, he assured in an interview on Barça TV.
For Mirotic, going as favorites in the last two Final Four did not help Barça, who could not win the title. “We were very clear favourites, everyone was talking about Barça and it wasn’t like that, we didn’t win. It will be different but there is no doubt that there is a lot of hunger, there is a lot of enthusiasm and the team arrives at a very good time”, he clarified.
Before dreaming of winning the final, they must be in it. And for this they will have to beat Real Madrid, who knocked them out last year in the ‘semis’ and who has just come back from losing 0-2 in the ‘Playoffs’. “I think we are the better team, I have to be honest. But we have to show it, if we don’t show it there is nothing. The important thing is to be calm, because in the Final Four any moment can happen, but the team that is calmer and who plays more physical has more chances of winning”, appreciated.
“After the 0-2 I thought Partizan was going to pass, because the truth is, playing two games at home… It is true that the suspension of Punter and Lessort has sunk them. But I have to say that what they have done has a lot of merit. “Madrid has done it, without a doubt. Winning three games, something that had never been done before, it’s incredible,” he said about that historic comeback by Real Madrid, one of his former teams.
And, despite the fact that this white victory allows them to choose to claim the revenge of the Final Four 2022, he does not want the team to get carried away by those emotions. “It’s a good thing, the team is more eager, more angry to face Madrid. It was a painful moment, but always turning the page quickly. There is no time to cry, there is no time for sorrows,” he said.
“We are in front of a great opportunity. We are in a great moment, there is no denying it. I believe that it is our time and we must face it like this. The Euroleague is the title that I am missing, it is the title that I need, it is the title that the fans want it. It is the title that Barcelona deserves. So I would give and do anything to get it”, he was sincere.
On a personal level, he recalled that his dream is to win the Euroleague for the Blaugrana. “I face it as a new opportunity that this year I can play, but without obsessing. I want to be there, I want to enjoy, I want to give everything, but everyone knows that my dream is to win the Euroleague with Barça,” he reiterated.
As for the ‘Playoffs’ crossing against Zalgiris, liquidated by fast track, he denied that it was a matter of the low level of the Lithuanians. “They have asked me if Zalgiris has been a worse rival. I say no. They have been a great rival, it has been one more thing from the moment the team arrived and how capable this team is, which has shown a lot by winning the third in a very complicated pavilion, with great fans”, he pointed out.
Now, in the Final Four, they will have to demonstrate that good moment in which they assure that they are. And fight to complete the process started with the arrival of Sarunas Jasikevicius on the bench. “I always say that this is a process, it is not easy to win the first year or the second. Obviously we have always been there, three consecutive Final Four have a lot of merit, it must be said,” he asked.
“Let’s hope that the people of Kaunas support us in this first game, which would be very good and they should do it because we have Lithuanians in our squad. So we’ll see, but I think this is more about basketball things than about fans. We have sent a message to the Euroleague, thus winning the tie. Besides, we already know Kaunas”, he celebrated, about learning about having recently played at the Zalgirio Arena, venue for the final.